mommyteacherkim

[mommyteacherkim]

Reflections on Qualitative Research and Critical Realism

Exploring Qualitative Research through the lens of Critical Realism has been a challenging journey for me as I am more familiar with traditional qualitative research methodologies. Critical Realism requires me to look deeper into the underlying causal mechanisms and ontological depth, which demanded a shift in my thinking process. However, as I explored deeper into the literature and methodology, I started to appreciate the richness it brings to the research process, especially in my study on teacher-mothers. Critical Realism provides a framework that goes beyond surface-level observations and allows me to uncover more layers of the empirical, the actual, and the real in the context of teacher-mothers experiences.

The manual analysis of data has also been a new and somewhat challenging experience for me. Unlike automated methods, manual analysis feels like practicing the long method of computation in deriving mathematical formulas. This approach demands patience, attention to detail, and a willingness to dive deep into the intricacies of the data. Although it may seem labor-intensive, the manual analysis allows me to establish a more intimate connection with the data. It's a meticulous journey that, despite its challenges, offers a thoughtful sense of academic delight as I witness the emergence of patterns and meanings.

Through Critical Realism and the manual analysis of data, I am reminded of two things: first, the diversity in writing research as well as its entire process is essential, and second, Critical Realism is a useful tool to see not only the parts of a social phenomenon under study but also the deeper context that lies between and amongst the data to be analyzed.

[mommyteacherkim]

A Generational Study of Teacher-Mothers’ Balancing of Careers and Familial Responsibilities

This study is interested in studying the experiences of mothers who work as teachers. It will investigate how the interplay between career and motherhood is balanced by women in the Philippines, particularly mothers from different generations. It is important to understand how societal expectations and gender norms can shape female professional identities and how we genuinely strive to balance multiple responsibilities. The main consideration in focusing on this topic is to seek mechanisms that would harmonize the professional and familial roles of women teachers in the country. Despite the presence of the Magna Carta of Women, several studies have noted that much still needs to be discovered to improve the current status of female teachers (Bongco & Abesamis, 2019; Xhaho, 2020; Lavado et al., 2022). This study aims to gain insights into how supportive policies and workplace practices can be improved to acknowledge and accommodate teacher-mothers' challenges. This is particularly significant due to recognized cultural underpinnings that reveal women are mostly prone to the second shift (Hochschild, 2012) and unpaid care work. Furthermore, each generation of teacher-mothers can provide an understanding of how they were able to manage their dual roles and how these management techniques affected their teaching practices and strategies. Their insights may clarify classroom dynamics and even student outcomes. By seeking to understand how teacher-mothers manage their responsibilities, education administrators and policymakers can better devise strategies to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement by prioritizing the overall well-being and work-life balance of teachers. This study hopes to examine the experiences of teacher-mothers across four generations: (1) Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 (2) Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980 (3) Millennials (Generation Y), born between 1981 and 1996 (4) Generation Z, born between 1997 and the early 2010s. Since very little is published in this area of women's studies, particularly traversing into the four generations, looking into the intergenerational perspectives of teacher-mothers hopes to uncover the evolution of societal attitudes, gender roles, and gender equality over time. Through the use of a historical lens, the study may be able to highlight the progress achieved and the persistent barriers teacher-mothers encounter. This can be a valuable context for understanding contemporary challenges in the educational setting as a whole. Through sharing personal narratives of teacher-mothers, this study will also explore the experiences of women teachers in their careers, including their ambitions, aspirations, and personal reflections. This study is highly relevant for highlighting Filipino teacher-mothers' cultural nuances and context, potentially leading to the design of interventions and strategies rooted in our cultural fabric.

The work-life balance especially for teacher-mothers in the academic sector is a topic that is not comprehensively understood through research (Rawal, 2021) it is important to explore this area of study in the context of today’s world because the societal impacts of work-life balance are not well-studied (Alves, et al., 2020; Thilagavathy & Geetha, 2023). Thus, a thorough understanding of how teacher-mothers from different generations balance their teaching careers and familial roles is an important inquiry to undertake, to better give nuance and context of this situation.

This study is designed as Narrative Analysis (Creswell, 2018; Riessman, 2008) and the collected data will be analyzed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis.

Alves, R., Lopes, T., & Precioso, J. (2020). Teachers’ well-being in times of Covid-19 pandemic: factors that explain professional well-being. IJERI: International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, (15), 203–217. https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.5120

Bongco, R. & Abenes R. (2019). Clash of Spheres - The Paradox of Being a Female Teacher in the Philippines. Beijing International Review of Education doi:10.1163/25902539-00102012  

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Hochschild, A., and Machung, A. (2012). The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home. New York, NY: Penguin.

Lavado, R. F., et al. (2022). COVID-19 disparities by gender and income: Evidence from the Philippines. International labour review, 161(1), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12226

Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Sage Publications, Inc.

Thilagavathy S. and Geetha S.N. (2023), "Work-life balance -a systematic review", Vilakshan - XIMB Journal of Management, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 258-276. https://doi.org/10.1108/XJM-10-2020-0186

Xhaho, A. Çaro, E. & Bailey A. (2020) Empowerment or a double burden? Work, family, and agency among Albanian migrant women in Greece, Gender, Place & Culture, https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2020.1817872

[mommyteacherkim]

The perfect motherhood

Examining critical realism and the evolving society's context (the open system) is a vital perspective in this investigation to comprehend the experiences of teacher-mothers, particularly on how they tackle the struggles of achieving a work-life balance while pursuing their personal and professional ambitions. This is to achieve the ideal motherhood, which is to have a perfect balance between work and family life. It is important to note that the concept of work-life balance for women, particularly for those who are teacher-mothers, may vary depending on the context. Therefore, investigations such as this one are essential.

These contexts may be influenced by both cultural and societal structures. Through a critical realist lens, this study may propose an understanding of teacher-mothers as being influenced by their surroundings, including the society they live in, the culture they belong to, and the rules of the institutions where they work. These factors can shape how they balance their familial and career roles. To illustrate, it is like understanding the background music that plays while teacher-mothers creatively dance. The societal structure often expects women to balance their career aspirations with their role as primary caregivers. This can be especially challenging for teacher-mothers, who face pressure to excel in both areas. As a result, many women end up sacrificing their personal goals or limiting their work capacities to focus on their families. This situation is like a complicated puzzle that requires understanding and support (Bouchard, 2023). By examining the challenges faced by teacher-mothers and identifying helpful mechanisms to support them, this inquiry aims to provide better support for these women.

When examining the concept of work-life balance or the pursuit of one's ideal of motherhood, it's important to consider the various levels of complexity involved. We need to recognize that the upper levels are irreducible to the lower levels, and that each level can have an impact on the others. The Philippine society has a unique family structure that is an important part of the work-life balance for teacher-mothers and their idea of perfect motherhood. They have a natural nurturing instinct and provide care to both their children and students, while also being strongly committed to teaching and focused on quality learning and academic performance. Additionally, women have unique biological characteristics such as experiencing childbirth and childrearing, menarche, childbearing potential (within menstruation), menopause, and the physical demands and consequences of pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and childcare. Acknowledging that teacher-mothers operate within a complex system of social structures and cultural underpinnings can lead to exploratory questions that reveal the emergence (an amalgamation of agency, structure, and culture) of this phenomenon being studied. It is crucial to take into account the impact of social structures on the experiences and responses of teacher-mothers. Critical realism provides a comprehensive framework to analyze these structures, including societal norms, policies, and expectations that shape their identities as both professionals and mothers. In countries such as the Philippines, despite laws and policies such as the Magna Carta of Women, working women continue to struggle with balancing their teaching commitments and traditional gender roles associated with household chores. Teacher-mothers have to divide their time and effort between teaching and taking care of their families, which can be challenging as both roles require significant attention and care. Societal expectations also put pressure on women to excel in both work and motherhood, making it harder to achieve balance (Ben-Uri, et al. 2022). Research has shown that the societal expectation of perfect motherhood can cause guilt and stress for working women. Women are expected to excel in parenting, child-raising, and home-rearing while also pursuing a career. Balancing these roles requires support from both society and workplaces (Power, 2020). The structures and cultural beliefs surrounding ideal motherhood are constantly interacting, as defined by Epistemic relativism. Using critical realism as a framework can provide an in-depth analysis of social structures, shedding light on how these structures either limit or empower the experiences and responses of teacher-mothers. This is important because it offers a comprehensive framework to understand how societal norms, policies, and expectations shape their identities both as professionals and mothers. Despite the presence of laws and policies, such as the Magna of Women in the Philippines, working women are still struggling to balance household chores and their full-time teaching commitments. These tasks are traditionally seen as gender roles for women, leading to working women extending their workday from morning to night (Espartinez, 2022).

The Morphogenesis As I continue to utilize the framework of critical realism in the context of this research, I hope to bring about a more nuanced appreciation of the open system and teacher-mother experiences by dealing with its intricacies. Beyond looking at the superficial analysis of narratives, it hopes to highlight the underlying causality of work-life balance or imbalances, by looking closely at the dynamics of responses to challenges and aspirations that lead towards work-life balance or imbalance. Using this critical realism perspective, this inquiry shall collect narratives, focusing on how individual experiences, the structures or systems the teacher-mothers work in, and the culture they are a part of, all influence each other. Through this study, I hope to explore different aspects, like how certain issues arise, how structures work, how teacher-mothers make decisions, and how work-life balance changes over time for teacher-mothers coming from different generations. This inquiry hopes to provide insights into how teacher-mothers face challenges, their coping mechanisms/responses, and the processes that transform them to attain the perfect motherhood or at least their work-life balance.

Looking within and beyond If only confined to a relativist perspective, this study may be an accept-all, all-good motherhood since all will depend on their choices – as happiness is simply a matter of choice. That all work-life balance will be acceptable, perhaps ideal, depending on the person illustrating one’s situation. On the contrary, an absolutist may insist on traditional gender roles as in men are for work and women are for home. The critical realist perspective offers a valuable framework that can be used in understanding this phenomenon of teacher-mothers’ work-life balance by looking through the agency, structure, culture, emergence, and morphogenesis through a more balanced lens.

References:

Ben-Uri, I., et al. (2022). Work-family conflict and facilitation among teachers in Israel and Switzerland. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 37, 729-744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-021-00562-0

Bouchard, E. (2023) Teaching in Tension: Teacher-mothers, work-life alignment, and a falsely feminised profession. [Unpublished Master’s Thesis] Auckland University of Technology.

Espartinez, A. (2022). Lived Experiences of Mothering and Teaching during the Pandemic: A Narrative Inquiry on College Faculty Mothers in the Philippines. Social Sciences, 12(1),

MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci12010024

Power, K. (2020). The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Increased the Care Burden of Women and Families. Sustainability: Sci. Pract. Pol. 16 (1), 67–73. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/15487733.2020.1776561

[mommyteacherkim]

Understanding teacher-mothers work-life balance through the Lens of Critical Realism

Traversing from a relativist perspective toward an evaluativist one is a difficult task for me. It's easier to accept multiple truths as versions of reality rather than explore the gray areas. However, evaluating different perspectives is important. It involves judgmental rationality, understanding what is transitive/intransitive, and analyzing agency, structure, and culture. In this inquiry, we shall focus on women, particularly teacher-mothers - those who have both children and careers in teaching.

Women have played an integral role in human history, not just in the realm of reproductive roles but also in productive ones. As gender roles evolve, women's contributions shift from traditional caregiving to economic, academic, and leadership roles.

Women are often limited in their roles due to the way our bodies are structured for reproduction. This means that women are not only expected to fulfill the traditional roles of wife and mother, but also to earn a wage. This is particularly true for women who strive to be the ideal mother and superwoman, managing all aspects of their lives without asking for help (Serra-Labrador, 2022). Looking at history, it is clear that it mainly focuses on men's achievements in various aspects of human enterprise. Unfortunately, women are still in a compromising position where they are obligated to fulfill the so-called second shift (Hochschild, 2012). This means that despite contributing as wage earners, women are still expected to perform the majority of household work, such as cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, and taking care of children after a long day of work. When it comes to female teachers who are also mothers, there is a common perception that teaching is a profession dominated by women. However, the reality is that men tend to have an advantage in terms of professional advancement and achieving a healthy work-life balance (Bongco and Abnes, 2019). According to various studies, work-life balance refers to the ability to effectively balance one's professional responsibilities with personal obligations and goals. (Atteh et al., 2020; Chen, 2022; Littig, 2008). This study will focus on the work-life balance process of teacher-mothers, in order to investigate the underlying structures and mechanisms that shape their experiences. By taking this approach, the study will be able to identify the causal factors that influence teacher-mothers' lives, which are not always immediately apparent. By understanding these complexities, the study will provide a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the challenges and aspirations that teacher-mothers face. Critical realism acknowledges that each individual has a unique experience within social structures. Teacher-mothers cannot be treated as passive individuals who simply react to their circumstances. Instead, they make choices and decisions within the constraints of their environment, which is an open system where they operate. By recognizing this aspect, this study can explore how teacher-mothers navigate and negotiate their roles, shedding light on how they balance their personal and professional responsibilities. Magnifying into the stratified nature of teacher-mothers’ work-life balance, it can be illustrated that the empirical are the activities such as hours spent in teaching, household chores and the level of stress women are experiencing. The domain of the actual can be the work policies such as maternity leave, work-from-home arrangements, flexible work time, and organizational cultures that (un)support teacher-mothers. Furthermore, the domain of the real are actual experiences of teacher-mothers such as societal expectations of a mother, traditional gender roles, remuneration, child care alternatives, and costs.

References:

Atteh, E., Martin, G., Oduro, A. T., Mensah, F. A., & Gyamfi, R. (2020). An overview on influence of work-family life conflict among female teachers and their job satisfaction in schools.Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 48-58. https://doi.org/10.9734/AJESS/2020/v9i230245 Bongco, R. & Abenes R. (2019). Clash of Spheres - The Paradox of Being a Female Teacher in the Philippines. Beijing International Review of Education doi:10.1163/25902539-00102012

Chen, S., Luo, Y., Mai, Z., Chen, X., & Shen, T. (2022). The mediating effect of subjective well-being in the relationship between social support and professional commitment among mainland Chinese kindergarten teachers. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 1011855. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1011855 Hochschild, A., and Machung, A. (2012). The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home. New York, NY: Penguin.

Littig, B. (2008). Work Life Balance – catchword or catalyst for sustainable work? Institute for Advanced Studies.Vienna. Retrieved (September 2023) from http://www.ihs.ac.at/publications/soc/rs85.pdf

Serra-Labrador, M. A. A. (2022). Ma’am Mom: An Autoethnography of Being a Teacher and a Mother during the COVID–19 Pandemic. Philippine Social Science Journal, 5(3), 33-45. https://doi.org/10.52006/main.v5i3.555

[mommyteacherkim]

Why teacher-mothers?

As a mother of a toddler, I am interested in studying the experiences of teacher-mothers like myself. I want to investigate how the interplay between career and motherhood is uniquely balanced by women in the Philippines, particularly from different generations. It is important to understand how societal expectations and gender norms can shape female professional identities and how we, women, strive to balance multiple responsibilities.

The main consideration in focusing on this topic is to seek mechanisms that would harmonize the professional and familial roles of women teachers in the country. Despite the presence of the Magna Carta of Women, several studies have noted that much still needs to be discovered to improve the current status of female teachers (Bongco & Abesamis, 2019; Xhaho, 2020; Lavado et al., 2022; Rivera, 2022). This inquiry is to further gain insights into how supportive policies and workplace practices can be improved to acknowledge and accommodate teacher-mothers' challenges. This is valuable in recognizing cultural underpinnings revealing that women are mostly prone to the second shift (Hochschild, 2012) and unpaid care work. Furthermore, each generation of teacher-mothers can provide an understanding of how they were able to manage their dual roles and how these management techniques affected their teaching practices and strategies. Their insights may clarify classroom dynamics and even student outcomes. By seeking to understand how teacher-mothers manage their responsibilities, education administrators and policymakers can better devise strategies to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement by prioritizing the overall well-being and work-life balance of teachers. This inquiry hopes to examine the experiences of teacher-mothers across three categories: (1) early-career teachers (2) mid-career teachers and (3) late-career teachers. Since very little is published in this area of women's studies, by looking into the historical lens, the study may highlight the progress achieved and the persistent barriers teacher-mothers encounter. This can be a valuable context for understanding the contemporary challenges of women in the educational setting. Lastly, through sharing personal narratives of teacher-mothers, this study will explore the experiences of women teachers in their careers, including their ambitions, aspirations, and personal reflections. This study is relevant for highlighting Filipino teacher-mothers' cultural nuances and context, potentially leading to the design of interventions and strategies rooted in our cultural fabric.

References:

Bongco, R. & Abenes R. (2019). Clash of Spheres - The Paradox of Being a Female Teacher in the Philippines. Beijing International Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1163/25902539-00102012 Hochschild, A., and Machung, A. (2012). The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home. New York, NY: Penguin. Lavado, R. F., Nowacka, K., Raitzer, D. A., Rodgers, Y., & Zveglich, J. E., Jr (2022). COVID-19 disparities by gender and income: Evidence from the Philippines. International labour review, 161(1), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12226 Rivera, K. C. (2022). "My job as a teacher literally never stops": How Filipino women teachers coped during the Covid-19 pandemic. Issues in Educational Research, 32(4), 1584-1604. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/rivera.pdf Xhaho, A. Çaro, E. & Bailey A. (2020) Empowerment or a double burden? Work, family, and agency among Albanian migrant women in Greece, Gender, Place & Culture, doi=10.1080/0966369X.2020.1817872

[mommyteacherkim]

Lifelong learner and Mother in Me

Having my first child in my late thirties, after being married for eight years, has been both exciting and challenging. It has been a time of many firsts: hearing my little one cry for the first time, changing nappies for the first time, breastfeeding for the first time, sleeping with a baby for the first time, and the list goes on. To say that this stage is an opportunity to learn new skills is an understatement. At this point, a mother not only tries to recover from the pain of childbearing and childbirth, but also experiences the deepest emotions of joy and satisfaction that having a child brings. It is an inner peace that only a child can give.

Being born and raised in a very traditional Filipino family where having or not having a child is something that could define a woman, it is unthinkable for me to settle for the thought that I will never have a child. Thus, when God sent me my angel, it was like being pardoned from all the prejudice and hurtful comments that the world could throw at me.

Time flies undeniably. After dedicating three straight years to my child and husband, the lifelong learner in me has awakened. I want to go back to school and pursue a Doctoral degree in Philosophy, a dream I set aside a few years back because of fear—fear of being judged as someone successful in a career but no less than futile in family life. That day, I told myself, 'I can do this—I can juggle between my responsibilities as a wife, a mother, a teacher, and a Ph.D. student.' So today, I am here, learning new concepts, migrating from chemical reactions and their complexities to critical realism and its value in research.

Today is not like the other days of my life. These days, I am painting a new canvas ready to take a myriad of colors and shades I have not mixed before. My love for learning is being shaped and reshaped as I learn to adapt to unpredictability while finding joy in the smallest moments. Some 'aha' moments in the laboratory could have brought the same levels of serotonin, but no, this one is far more ecstatic!

Now is not even half of the journey, which I hope to finish on time. But as one of my professors told me, the process is more important than the product. At the moment, I trust that my love for learning will bring brighter days while I continuously embrace the warmth of motherhood, I will simply live a life fueled by curiosity and LOVE.